Celestial Dark
by anime-fan72
Summary: When Lucy has a strange dream and then receives a strange key as a reward for a mission, what will happen to her? What is this new key and who is it coming after her? My first story!
1. Chapter 1

Lucy walked beside the river, as she did every day, with Plue wobbling along behind her. Several fishermen called out to her to be careful, but instead of reassuring them with a smile and a wave as usual, she continued walking with a thoughtful frown on her face.

"Pu pun pu puu pun?" Lucy stopped and glanced down at Plue, who was wiggling with concern. She tried to give her little dog spirit a bright smile, but it felt fake. The blonde Celestial Mage sighed.

"Sorry, Plue. I'm just stuck on this dream I had last night." Lucy started frowning again. "It felt so real, and I know it actually happened." The Fairy Tail mage started walking to the guild hall with her little spirit again as she remembered her dream for the umpteenth time.

*Flashback*

_Lucy was playing with Michelle in front of a large fire. It was wintertime and snow was falling outside._

"_Lucy, dear, come here. I need to tell you something." Lucy ran to the large armchair next to the roaring fire. Layla Heartfilia, Lucy's mother, sat there watching the fire. She was sick, and she knew death was a distinct possibility. Lucy climbed onto her mother's lap and looked up at her._

"_What is it Mama? Is it another story about Celestial Spirits?"_

"_Yes, it is. But this time, it's about a different kind of spirits." Lucy was confused and frowned at Layla._

"_How? You told me all the stories of the constellations already."_

"_I have. But the spirits I'm going to tell you about now don't have constellations. You see, Lucy, the Celestial Spirits we know are the Celestial Light Spirits. That is why the Zodiac leader, Leo, uses light magic. But there has to be balance, light and dark. So just like there are Celestial Light Spirits, there are also Celestial Dark Spirits. They have no constellations, but they do have keys and can be called upon for help. Very few have ever been found and contracted though, because they are the rivals of our Celestial Light Spirits. Only very powerful mages who are the kindest masters can contract both kinds of spirits."_

"_How many are there? What are they called? What do they look like?" Lucy interrupted eagerly, her eyes shining with the new knowledge._

"_Well, no one really knows. There have been so few found and those who have seen them have left few records behind. There have been four contracted in history, and no mage has ever contracted more than one. They are only mentioned passingly as the Magnolia, the Oak, the Pine, and the Violet. They require a lot of power to be called upon, even more so than any Zodiac spirit."_

"_When I grow up, I'm going to get really strong and find one! Then we can both meet one!" Lucy said determinedly. Layla smiled at her daughter and gave her a weak hug._

"_I hope you do, Lucy. You have a good heart, full of love and light."_

*End Flashback*

"Pu pun pun?" Lucy blinked as she was brought out of her thoughts. She glanced around and noticed that she had arrived at Fairy Tail. As she and Plue entered, the blonde had to duck to avoid getting hit by a flying chair. She shook her head at the boys fighting in the middle of the hall before going to sit at the bar, sending Plue back to the Spirit World, out of danger.

"Luce1 There you are! Want to go on a mission?" Natsu asked as he flew by. Lucy smiled and nodded at her pink-haired partner. She helped him stand up before the two went to look at the request board.

"Hey, Natsu. This one sounds really good, and it will pay off my rent!" Lucy said happily as she pointed to a flyer. It read:

**The town of Mountain Laurel is being attacked**

**by a pack of wyverns. Please come destroy them.**

**Meet the Mayor for details.**

**Reward: 500,000J and an unknown Celestial Key**

"Come on! Let's get Erza and Ice Princess and go!" Natsu yelled.

"Who you calling Ice Princess flame idiot?" Gray yelled back as he walked over.

"Gray, clothes," Erza calmly said as she took down the flyer and read it.

"When did that happen?" the Ice Mage exclaimed as he raced around the guild, gathering his clothes off the floor.

"Go home and pack. We will meet at the train station in one hour," Erza ordered as she went to Mirajane to get the flyer stamped.

*Time Skip* At the Train Station*

Lucy stared into space as she waited for her team to arrive. _'I wonder what the key is in the reward. How can a key be unknown? Sure, Celestial Spirit Mages are pretty rare, but our keys have all been identified.'_ Her dream pushed its way back into the forefront of her mind. _'No…that's not possible. I remember that day now, it was only a few weeks before Mama was too sick to leave bed, but if they're as rare as Mama said, and I have so much trouble finding new Celestial Light Spirit keys, I sincerely doubt I'll find a Celestial Dark Spirit key so easily. But I have to wonder, why did I dream about that now?'_

"Oi, Luce! Come on! The train's about to leave!" Lucy glanced up, startled, to see her team in front of her. Gray was already unbuttoning his shirt, Erza was pulling her luggage mountain along behind her, Happy was sitting on Natsu's head eating a fish, and Natsu was shouting insults at Gray.

"Natsu, Gray, are you fighting?" the scarlet-haired knight asked darkly. The two males quickly threw their arms around each other, stuttering how they were the best of friends, and accidentally knocking Happy off Natsu's head. The blue cat saved himself using his wings, but his fish was not so lucky.

"Lushy! My fish is ruined!" Happy wailed as he flew into the blonde's waiting arms. Lucy just sighed as she tried to comfort the crying cat. She loved her team, but they were tiring sometimes.

The four mages and cat boarded the train just before the doors shut. Natsu instantly turned green and stretched out on the seat, his head in Lucy's lap.

"So, Lucy. Do you have any idea what this mysterious Celestial key might be?" Erza asked as she sat down opposite the blonde mage and her motion-sick partner.

"Hmmm. I'm not sure actually. Celestal Spirit Keys are actually pretty easy to identify. I don't know what key could be so puzzling, unless…" she trailed off as she again thought of her dream. "No. They are too rare. The coincidence is too great," she mumbled to herself, trying to dispel the image of her mother in the large armchair by the fire.

"Unless what? What were you going to say Luce? You should know by now that no coincidence can be too great," the shirtless Ice Mage said while lounging in his seat next to Erza.

"Well," Lucy bit her lip. "I had a dream last night. It was actually a memory of my mother. She had already taught me about all of the constellations, so this time, she was telling me about a different type of spirit. They're called Celestial Dark Spirits. There is really very little known about them as they are difficult to summon and only four have ever been found." Lucy glanced out the window. "They're called the Magnolia, Oak, Pine, and Violet. That's all I really know."

The red-haired mage frowned at this. "What about that Saber girl's spirit? The one she summoned against Kagura in the Grand Magical Games? I felt a rather powerful dark magic coming off it. Is it a Dark Spirit?"

The blonde girl laughed. "You mean Ophiuchus? He is a Celestial Light Spirit. From what Grandpa Crux told me, Ophiuchus was the Thirteenth Zodiac Key, but he angered the Celestial Spirit King. So moustache man hid Ophiuchus' key in the human world. I don't know what type of magic he uses, but he's definitely a Light Spirit. Just forgotten for a while."

After a few more hours on the train, Team Natsu arrived in Mountain Laurel. It was a small quaint town at the base of a mountain, not too far away from Mt. Hakobe. After Natsu recovered from being on the train, the team set off to find out more about their mission.

**AN: This is my first story. It should be updated about once a week. Please review! I need the feedback.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**AN: I just realized I forgot to do this last time, so here it goes: I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does. And this disclaimer goes for the entire story. Anyways, enjoy!**

Erza took charge as a butler answered the door at the Mayor's house. It had been quite easy to find, as it was the largest house, placed in the center of town. The four mages (and cat) were immediately led into the study where the Mayor was pacing agitatedly.

"Finally! Thank you all so very much for coming," the Mayor cried. He rushed over to quickly shake their hands. In his distracted state, he even shook Happy's hand, causing the cat to silently cry tears of happiness at being recognized as a member of Team Natsu. "I am Mayor Jorge. I assume you are the Fairy Tail mages. The pack of wyverns has been spotted on the mountain just north of town. It's been destroying all our laurel fields and killing the farmers' animals. Please, get rid of those monsters as quickly as you can!" And with that, the team of mages was pushed out of the study and found themselves back on the street.

"How rude! He didn't even let us talk!" Lucy pouted as they began walking up the street, towards the massive mountain looming over the town.

"Remember, Lucy. He's the Mayor. He must be very concerned about the damage these monsters have caused and what might happen if they ever get bored of just taking animals. Wyverns will happily eat humans too." The scarlet-haired knight said.

"Nah. He's not worried about the people. He's just worried about not getting voted back into office," countered the Ice Mage, who had lost his shirt sometime between leaving the Mayor and exiting the town.

"Gray! Do not speak ill of the client! You should treat him with respect," Erza scolded, ignoring the shirtless state of her teammate.

"Tch. Whatever you say, Erza. But that doesn't mean I'm wrong." It was at this point that Natsu stopped walking and inhaled. He grinned and raced back to his team.

"Let's go! I can smell them! I'm all fired up!" he yelled, grinning.

"Aye sir!" called Happy faithfully.

The Titania's hand shot out and latched onto Natsu, slamming him into the ground. "Wait, Natsu. We need some sort of plan first. We don't know how many wyverns there are, nor what type."

Natsu jumped up and grinned again, flashing his fangs. He slammed his right fist into his left palm. "Doesn't matter. We're stronger than any old wannabe dragons!" The pinkette still followed Erza obediently and silently as Team Natsu peered around a large outcropping of rocks to find ten blizzardverns relaxing on the other side.

"Blizzardverns? But I thought they only lived in really cold and snowy places," whispered Lucy. She frowned. "Something else must have forced them to move and attack Mountain Laurel."

"It does not matter. Our mission is to destroy them and we shall complete it. Take out as many as you can," Erza ordered as she summoned twin swords to her hands. "Go!" the knight yelled as she leapt at a nearby wyvern, neatly slicing its head off before it could react.

Gray slammed his hands together. "Ice Make: Lance!" he shouted, his spears easily catching another monster off-guard.

Natsu jumped out, refusing to be outdone by Gray. He ran around, fist on fire, throwing punches and kicks everywhere.

Lucy pulled out one of her keys and called out, "Open! Gate of the Bull, Taurus!"

"Moo! Lucy's body looks bea-yoo-tiful today!" the perverted cow spirit said with hearts in his eyes.

"Taurus, focus! Rampage!" the blonde said as she pulled out her whip. Taurus immediately gripped his axe and charged at the blizzardverns, hacking off pieces left and right. The monsters had clustered together, a few were still confused, some were on fire (courtesy of Natsu, of course), but most had gotten over their initial shock and were trying to attack.

Not even half an hour later, all the wyverns were dead and Lucy sent Taurus back to the Spirit World. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and panted slightly as she clipped her whip back on her belt. She turned to her team and said, "Is it just me, or was that really easy?"

Erza shook her head. The scarlet-haired knight was not even winded. "No. You are correct, Lucy. Those wyverns were far too easy to kill. Even though our strength has grown considerably, we should have had more trouble with them. Wyverns are fierce opponents."

Gray nodded in agreement as he scratched the back of his neck. The Ice mage was now clad in only his boxers, having stripped out of his pants at some point during the fight. "Yeah. Did you see their eyes? They were all dull and clouded over, like something was blocking their senses. And they kept getting confused. Blizzardverns are supposed to be really territorial and intelligent, not stupid and weak."

Natsu turned his head at that. "For once, I gotta agree with Ice Stripper over there. They smell weird. Like something else is part of them, or like their scent is weaker." Happy fainted from the shock of Natsu agreeing with Gray, a little ghost floating out of his mouth.

"What did you call me, firebreath?" Gray slammed his forehead against Natsu's.

"You heard me, you exhibitionist! Put some clothes on!" Natsu pushed back against Gray's forehead.

"Natsu, Gray, what have I said about fighting?!" Erza yelled, a sword materializing in her outstretched hand. She pointed it straight at the two boys, who were clinging to each other and shivering in of the Requip mage's wrath.

Lucy giggled at her team's antics and happily skipped back to town as Happy planned all the fish he would buy with his (i.e. Natsu's) share of the reward. Gray collected his discarded clothes on Erza's orders, so by the time the team had arrived at Mayor Jorge's house, they were all presentable.

They found him pacing in front of his house, waiting for them. He seemed shocked and slightly afraid as he noticed their approach, as if he didn't expect them back so soon. "S-so I guess it went well then," he stuttered, visibly pulling himself together before continuing, "Here is your reward and the key. Take them and go. I am very grateful for your help. If Mountain Laurel ever needs the aid of mages again, I'll be sure to call on Fairy Tail." The butler from before placed a small chest and a key into Erza's hands before quickly escorting Mayor Jorge back into the house.

The Fairy Tail mages stood there blinking a few times before it sunk into them.

"What the hell? What just happened?" asked the raven-haired Ice Mage.

"He was rude again! Who is he to treat us like that? We did just save his town," moped Lucy.

"Did you all not notice? He was scared to see us. As Lucy said, we just saved Mountain Laurel. Mayor Jorge should have been relieved. Instead, he acted as if he couldn't wait to get away. Combine that reaction with the strange wyverns, and it appears that this mission was not exactly what it seemed," Erza said.

During this whole discussion, Natsu had kept quiet, sniffing the air and frowning. Happy noticed this and asked, "Natsu, why are you acting weird? Is Lucy rubbing off on you?"

A vein popped out on the infuriated blonde's forehead as she yelled, "I'm not weird, you stupid cat!" Natsu just blinked before frowning deeper.

"Something's wrong. I can't believe none of us noticed earlier. Well, of course Iceface wouldn't have, but I should've. I mean, look around. There are no people. We haven't seen or heard anyone other than the Mayor and his butler dude. And this place smells wrong, like the wyverns. Not like it's been abandoned, but like no one lived here to begin with. But even that smell is mixed with something I can't pick out. Those two smelled like that too. I think they were hoping I wouldn't notice, but nothing here so far, not the two people we met, not the wyverns, not the town, have smelled right. Something's blocking or weakening the smell somehow." The pink-haired Dragon Slayer scratched his head while his team stared at him in shock. Well, everyone but Happy. The poor Exceed had fainted again from the surprise of his adopted father talking seriously and relatively intelligently.

Gray got over it faster than the others and glared at Natsu. "Did you just insult me, squinty-eyes? Not everyone has a dog's sense of smell like you!"

And with that, everything was back to normal as they headed back to the train station to return home.

*Unknown Location*

The recording from a lacrima camera flickered off, leaving the room in darkness. The two figures in the room sat in silence for a few moments before the one standing by the door moved closer to the one sitting at the table with the lacrima on it.

"That Dragon Slayer could smell the difference between reality and your creations. They are more perceptive than you gave them credit for," purred the one standing, now identifiable as a woman.

"It matters not that they noticed the side-effect of my magic. Not even Fairy Tail is able to stop this. She has the first key now, the one my family guarded for so long. The one who will lead her to the rest, and to _her_," rumbled the one sitting, identifiable as a man. The two exited the dark room, revealing themselves to the light. The woman was short and thin, with good but not generous proportions. Her long hair was curly and reddish-black while her eyes were catlike with golden irises and slit pupils. She wore a simply outfit of black pants, white shirt, and black knee-length boots. The man was of average height, but very overweight. He wore a black three-piece suit and tie with dress shoes, the buttons on his jacket straining against his stomach. His hair was greasy black, slicked back, and his eyes were the same color, but held a distant, emotionless intelligence. They parted ways, the woman off to keep tabs on Fairy Tail (and one blonde Celestial mage in particular), while the man went off to continue his day as if it had never been interrupted.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**AN: We get to meet the first Dark Spirit! I hope you all like him. Soory about how short this chapter is, I had terrible writer's block. As before, I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does. Enjoy!**

Team Natsu had an uneventful trip back to Magnolia. At the train station, they spilt the reward evenly among the four mages. They had almost parted ways when Erza remembered the key and handed it to Lucy. The blonde Celestial mage wandered into the park to contract the Spirit.

_'I've never seen this key before!'_ she exclaimed to herself as she examined the key. Instead of being silver or gold, it was pure black. The symbol on it was that of an oak leaf. _'This must really be one of the Celestial Dark Spirit keys Mama told me about. Which one had this symbol? Gate of… of… Oh! I remember now!'_

Lucy swished the key in front of her and called, "I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits, now! O spirit, answer my call and pass through the gate! Open, Gate of Wisdom, Quercus!"

A flash of pure darkness appeared before dissipating. Lucy fell to her knees, the power it had taken to summon Quercus was equivalent to opening three Zodiac gates consecutively. It was not as difficult as she had been led to believe, but not easy either. She studied the spirit curiously as she stood back up. He looked human, with dark brown hair and forest-green eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses. He was tall and lean, obviously not meant for battle. He had more of the scholarly look.

"Lucy Heartfillia. Appears 18 years old, but is truly 25. Celestial Spirit Mage. Holds 10, no, 9 Ecliptic Zodiac keys and 5 silver keys. Friends with the Celestial Spirit King." the Spirit listed off before bowing. "I am Quercus, but you may call me Oak. I am the first of the Celestial Dark Spirits."

The blonde blinked a few times before responding. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Oak. Would you like to make a contract with me?" She chose to ignore the fact that he knew so much about her.

Oak smiled at her. "I would be a fool not to. I am available whenever you have need of me, Princess. My forte is giving advice, as I have access to all knowledge. Much like the Spirit of the Southern Cross, but I am not limited to the Celestial world."

Lucy processed this information before smiling happily. "I am glad to have you as my friend, Oak. But I have a question. What do you mean by 'first of the Celestial Dark Spirits'?"

The brunet scratched his head sheepishly. "I cannot explain everything to you, Princess, but it is because of the differences between Celestial Light and Dark Spirits. While a Celestial Spirit Mage can contract any Light Spirit at any time, Celestial Dark Spirits are usually contracted in order. I am the first that is contracted. And that's all I can tell you. Sorry, Princess."

The blonde shook her head. "Don't apologize, Oak. You told me what you could, and satisfied my curiosity for now. Is there anything you need me to know?"

"Yes, actually," Oak said, frowning. "I am supposed to have access to all information, so I can best advise my master in any situation. So I know that, other than me, three other Celestial Dark Spirit keys have been found."

"Yes, my mother taught me that," put in Lucy.

"She must have been a very well-educated woman, then. It is not common knowledge. The strange thing is those three keys were returned to their holdings after their contracts ended. I was not. And someone, somehow, is hiding who held my key all this time and why!"

"Is that a bad thing?" she asked, concerned at how upset her new spirit appeared.

"Not necessarily, but it is unlikely to be good. I would advise you, Princess, to find the other keys. They may know something that is hidden from me."

Lucy nodded, a determined light shining in her eyes. "Of course, Oak. This obviously upsets you, so I will do whatever I can to help. Who do I find first?"

Oak cocked his head and pursed his lips thoughtfully. I suggest looking for the Key of the Viola first. She is the second Celestial Dark Spirit and was returned to her holding after my contract ended. Also," he blushed, "she's my wife."  
>"Awww," Lucy squealed. "That's so cute! So, how do I find her?"<p>

A map materialized in the Spirit's hands and he handed it to his mistress. "Use this. Bring your team with you for the protection. The holders are often reluctant to part with their keys." With that, Oak disappeared in another flash of darkness.

Lucy sighed, exhausted. Summoning Oak and keeping him out so long had taken most of her magic. As she started to examine the map, she was blinded momentarily by a flash of golden light.

"Princess. What. Did. You. Do?" Lucy looked up to see a furious lion spirit standing with his arms crossed in front of her.

"What do you mean, Loke?" she asked coolly, her eyes narrowing.

"I mean, Princess, that you have made a contract with one of your spirits' greatest enemies. Do you understand how serious that is?"

"I understand that Dark Spirits may not be your friends, but I am. Do you not trust my judgment? Oak does not mean to hurt me. I can feel it."

"I trust you, Lucy," the ginger-haired man sighed. "But I can't just go work with a Dark Spirit without trying to persuade you against it."

The Stellar Spirits mage's face lit up with a smile. "So you'll do it? You're not too angry with me?"

Loke shook his head and gave his mistress a small smile. "I'm not angry. Dark Spirits are not truly our enemies, we just have a hard time working well together. Your spirits will work with Dark Spirits if you choose to contract with them, but if they ever hurt or disobey you in any way, they will feel the wrath of all the Celestial Light Spirits."

"I'm sure they know that, and I don't think they will, judging by Oak."

"So," the lion spirit said as he shifted from serious to playful, "what're you holding, Princess? A giant poster of me to hang on your wall? You know, I would gladly sign it for you. Better yet, just keep me out more often. You won't need the picture."

"Idiot. It's a map. Oak was upset because he couldn't find out why his key was never returned to its 'holdings', whatever that is. He told me the best way to find out would be to search out one of the other Dark Spirits. This map is supposed to lead me to her."

"Well then, Princess. Not like I can't protect you perfectly well on my own, seeing as I am your knight in shining armor, but you should grab your team first and go." The spirit gave one brilliant smile before fading in another flash of golden light.

"Stupid lion. I was going to bring them anyways," Lucy mumbled as she folded the map and left the park. She headed towards the guild hall to collect her team and leave again. Unknown to her, a pair of golden eyes had been watching the whole time. The woman attached to those eyes pulled out a communications lacrima to report how the plan was moving forward as she continued to follow the Celestial Spirit mage.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

**AN: New characters in this chapter! I hope you like them! Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does. Enjoy!**

Lucy sighed in relief as she consulted the map Oak gave her. Her team was her family, but the past three days travelling on foot with them had tried her patience to the extreme. Wherever this key's "holdings" were, they were far away from any railroad line and deep in the mountains.

After a few hours walk, around midday, Team Natsu found itself in front of a small crevice in the mountain. Lucy consulted her map again, but they were definitely in the right place. She lifted her head and studied the crack. It was tall enough that Laxus could have walked through without ducking, but only two feet wide. She folded the map and stuck it in her bag. "This is it, guys. The Celestial Dark Spirit key, the Key of the Viola, is through here."

"What?!" Natsu whined. "But we didn't even fight any monsters! I thought this was gonna be fun! We didn't even have to take the train!"

"Quiet, Natsu. If Lucy says this is our destination, then this is our destination. Now let's get the key and see whether or not this spirit knows anything about Oak's dilemma." Said the scarlet-haired Requip mage.

The blonde cocked her head. "Maybe I should ask Oak if he can tell us anything helpful about this place. I don't think it's a good idea to just run in without any plan." Natsu immediately stopped moving; he had been slowly edging closer to the crack, hoping to get done with this boring trip fast. Lucy pulled out the black Celestial key and called, "Open! Gate of Wisdom, Quercus!" There was a flash of darkness and Oak appeared bowing.

"You called, Princess?" he said as he straightened.

"This is your new spirit? He doesn't seem that bad," said Gray as he eyed the brunet spirit. From what Lucy said of Loke's reaction to her contract, the Ice Mage had been expecting someone cold and calculating. Whoever this guy was, he didn't seem any weirder than any of Lucy's other spirits. He actually seemed pretty normal. Gray shuddered as an image of Aquarius flashed through his mind. _Definitely more normal than her other spirits._

"This is Oak. Oak, as I'm sure you already know, this is my team. Natsu, Erza, and Gray." Lucy introduced. "I was hoping you could tell us more about the key's 'holdings' so we know what to expect when we walk through there." The blonde gestured at the opening.

The Spirit adjusted his glasses and thought for a moment. "The holdings of this key are not as they appear. They appear narrow and dark. Enter, and you'll find that is not true. The holder is not a fighter, but you will find she is still a very difficult opponent. That is all I can say, Princess."

"What does that mean? Why are you being cryptic? Tell us everything! Lucy says we should not enter without knowing everything we can, so explain yourself!" Erza summoned a sword with which to threaten the Spirit. She would never use it, as the redhead did not want to be the target of Scary Lucy.

"Calm down, Erza! He told us everything he could!" Lucy flailed her arms about, trying to calm her friend down. "Oak can't tell us everything he knows, just like Crux can't. All Celestial Spirits have to follow certain laws, and the Spirits associated with knowledge have to follow even more. The consequences of saying too much could upset the balance of power. Some things have to be discovered, you can't just have the answers handed to you. That's part of what it means to be Fairy Tail, right? Going on an adventure to find the answers?"

The Titania nodded her head and lowered her sword. "You are right, Lucy. I apologize for forgetting that important part of our guild. You may hit me as punishment."

The Celestial mage sweatdropped at her friend's words. "Uh, that's okay, Erza. You don't have to be punished. Let's just go inside now. Thanks, Oak, four your help! You can go back now!" The Spirit bowed again and vanished in his flash of darkness.

"Alright! Let's go!" Natsu yelled, grinning.

"What are you so happy about, flamebrain?" questioned the raven-haired mage as he stripped off his shirt.

"Didn't you hear that guy, Iceface? The 'holder' or whatever of the key is an opponent! That means a fight!"

"Oak also said that she was not a fighter, Pinky. Don't go making assumptions!" But Gray was too late, Natsu had already started for the crack. The rest of the team followed, including Happy who had been quiet so far as he munched on a fish.

As Team Natsu went through the crack, they found Oak was right. Now that they were inside the "holdings", they could see that it was actually a large and bright place. Sunlight filtered through more cracks in the ceiling, illuminating bare rock. The cavern must have hollowed out a good portion of the mountain. As they stood, gawking, a woman appeared in the middle of the cave.

"What's this? More wayward children for me to educate? Come then! Let us get started!" she said in a high, reedy voice. Lucy shivered. It reminded her of her etiquette teacher, a cruel old woman who never tolerated anything less than perfect behavior in all circumstances. This woman even looked somewhat like her. She had graying black hair pulled into a severe bun and cold black eyes. Her skin was stretched taught over the bones of her face and her thin lips were permanently pursed. She wore a plain, modest, black floor-length gown with long sleeves and a high collar.

"Where to start? Where to start? I suppose the only way to begin is with your appearances. You, boy!" she pointed at Gray. "Why are you not wearing a shirt? And you!" she pointed at Natsu. "Why is your hair pink? And girl!" she pointed at Erza. "Don't you know that it is improper for a lady to wear armor and fight? It's downright barbaric! And you!" she finally pointed at Lucy, narrowing her eyes and sneering. "How dare you go out dressed like that? A lady must be modest! And if you want my key, you will become so!"

"Your key? You mean, you're the holder of the Key of the Viola?" the blonde asked.

"Yes, I am. I was chosen to guard this key because of my modesty. It determined that that was the desirable quality in its holder. Now, you shall sit through my three lessons if you want it! Lesson One: Appearance! One must dress becoming their age and station in fashion, but still preserving their modesty!"

Evening found Team Natsu exhausted as if they had each fought a dark guild single-handedly. The four mages and cat had not expected modesty lessons to be so demanding. Yes, even Happy was forced to join, and yes, they were called "modesty lessons". The holder, whose name they learned was Victoria, had been a slave driver. She accepted nothing less than perfection in her three lessons: Appearance, Conversation, and Action. Gray struggled with Appearance; the Ice Mage simply could not keep his clothes on when he was agitated. Natsu and Happy were terrible at Conversation; they blurted out whatever was in their heads without filtering. Erza, surprisingly, had difficulty figuring out how to act in certain situations. She was either too brash or too embarrassed. Lucy had excelled in all three lessons, relying on her etiquette lessons from childhood, to the dismay of Victoria.

"Hmpf. I suppose lasting this long means you are worthy of the Key of the Viola. Here, take it. But understand this. When your contract with her is finished, the key must be returned. Do you understand, girl?" Victoria said, miffed that she succeeded at teaching the lessons so many others had failed miserably at. She held out a black key.

"Yes, I understand. Do not worry over much, Miss Victoria. I will take good care of your key," Lucy said seriously, giving a small curtsy before taking the key. Victoria vanished, leaving the friends alone in the giant cavern again.

"Finally! I thought she would never leave!" said Gray as he quickly stripped out of the confining clothes they had been forced to wear and slipped on his normal outfit.

"I agree. Miss Victoria was quite strict, but I believe that we could all do with using more etiquette and modesty. Well, other than Lucy." Erza said as she requipped into her usual armor. Miss Victoria had nearly had a heart attack when Erza had requipped in front of the older woman. It had provoked her to give a very long sermon on modesty and how such magic prevented Erza from having any. The knight was quite unaffected by that realization.

"She was weirder than Lucy," said Happy as he struggled to pull off his clothes while also stuffing another fish in his mouth.

"That was no fun!" pouted Natsu. "There was no fighting! And what's wrong with the way I talk? I talk fine! You all understand what I'm saying!"

Lucy, meanwhile, had examined the key. Like Oak's, it was black, but its symbol was that of a violet petal. She swished the key in front of her, not bothering to change yet, and called, "I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits, now! O spirit, answer my call and pass through the gate! Open, Gate of Modesty, Viola!"

There was a flash of darkness and a woman appeared in front of the mages. She was beautiful, with long dark purple hair and lilac colored eyes. She was dressed in a dress similar to Victoria's, except hers was royal purple. She curtsied. "Hello, I am Viola, but you may call me Violet. I am the second of the Celestial Dark Spirits. I use healing magic. I can heal any injury, cure any poison. There is the exception, of course, of when it is a person's time to die. I cannot heal in that instance."

Lucy curtsied in return and said," Hello, Violet. I am Lucy Heartfilia. I have a few questions for you."

**AN: I've decided, as a thank you for all of you who have reviewed, followed, and favorited, that I'm going to post another chapter today! So you can expect to see that in a few hours.**

**Bye!**

**anime-fan72**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

**AN: I'm feeling inspired, so here's the next chapter for all you lovely people reading my story! As always: I don't own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does. Enjoy!**

Lucy frowned and sighed as she and the rest of her team walked. Violet had been no help whatsoever. All the Spirit could tell the blonde was that Oak had been in hands of one of Fiore's rich families, but she didn't know which one. _That's real specific. It's not like there are literally dozens of rich families out there, and taking into account how long it's been since either Violet or Oak have been contracted, there could be hundreds of possibilities!_

Lucy remembered from her history lessons how different families every few generations would rise to the top only to fall again. A family that had been rich when Violet was last contracted was not necessarily going to be rich now. That was why Oak had advised Lucy to continue contracting the Celestial Dark Spirits. Their assumption was that one of the others discovered would know something, or that whoever had held onto Oak would reveal themselves. And this was why the Stellar Spirits mage found herself back on the road, stopping Natsu and Gray's arguments from getting physical and keeping Happy supplied with fish. Erza was leading them to the nearest town, Quaking Aspen, to contact the guild via communications lacrima and catch the train. The next key, thankfully, was located nearer to a railroad line, so they didn't have to go all the way on foot.

Her thoughts drifted to something Natsu said to Happy before they left Violet's holdings.

*Flashback*

_"Natsu? What are you doing?" Happy asked around the fish in his mouth. The cat seemed to have an endless supply of them. The pink-haired dragon slayer looked up from where he had been walking in seemingly random patterns._

_"This smell. I've smelled something like it before. It's like… like… like that town! A person was here, before we were, but they smell like those weirdoes from that flower town that wasn't lived in. They walked around a lot. I don't know if they did anything to change this place. If they did, I can't find it. The scent's hard to keep track of."_

*End Flashback*

The Celestial mage frowned. _I think Oak was right, that whoever had his key will reveal themselves if I keep contracting the Dark Spirits. That scent, whatever it is, keeps showing up wherever we find a key. There has to be a connection! I just need to find it._

*Unknown Location*

The overweight man sighed as the new lacrima camera turned off. His partner walked over from her place by the door. "You know, that fire dragon slayer is really going to ruin all our plans. Eventually, they're going to find one of these lacrimas and we won't be able to monitor as closely anymore. And how, exactly, are we going to fight him? I can take that stripping Ice Mage, and my brother can take on that pitiful Titania, but neither of us would be useful against Salamander."

"Don't worry about Natsu Dragneel, I have the perfect opponent for him." he pursed his lips. "I suppose it's about time I introduce you to her. Julia! Come here, please!" the black-haired man called. As he finished, a flash of red appeared on the other side of the table, bringing a girl with it. She was petite, much like Wendy in build, but her hair and eyes were flame red. The dress she wore was a mixture of different reds, oranges, yellows, and gold.

"You called for Sparkles? Sparkles is here!" the girl chirped happily, a huge smile on her face. The woman would have found it cute, but the smile was too big, almost crazed. She felt that this girl, Julia, Sparkles, whatever, wasn't everything she appeared to be.

"Julia, what have I told you about that ridiculous way of speaking?" the man reprimanded. "It is childish to go around referring to yourself in the third person. And that absurd nickname! That is unbecoming of a princess!" The woman blinked at her partner in shock, eyes wide. _This girl's a princess? Of what? Crazyland?_

The red-haired girl pouted and crossed her arms. "Sparkles does too act like a princess! She's the princess of flames! All flames bow to her will! And her flames cannot be controlled! No one can stop Sparkles's flames once they start burning! And the more they burn, the more power Sparkles gets! The more power Sparkles gets, the more she can burn!" the girl spoke with increasing excitement, a crazed look in her eyes and a sadistic laugh slipping from her mouth at the end of her little tirade.

The man sighed, tired of her antics. "Anyways, I called you here, Julia, so you can meet my partner. This is Lybica, a feline mage. Her brother, Polylepis, is a reptile mage. He's painfully shy most of the time, but unparalleled in battle. It is because of his shyness that he does not join us now, though he is watching. Lybica, this is Julia. She is the self-proclaimed 'Princess of Flames', since all fire does whatever she wants. And, as she mentioned, the fires she creates cannot be put out by anyone else and give her more power the more they destroy. My father found her on one of his trips and decided to bring her back with him. He quickly figured out why she was left on the streets, though, as she loves to burn anything in reach. She's learned some control now, but refuses to let go of her ludicrous nickname for herself." The man, the only one left unnamed, rolled his eyes as he finished.

Julia/Sparkles smiled at Lybica, forcing the woman to repress a shiver. She could now distinctly see the insanity in the girl and the golden-eyed woman was creeped out by it. _And I thought Polylepis was scary when he fights. This girl is something far worse than even him. I wouldn't want to be Salamander when the time comes to fight her._

"Nice to meet you Lybica, Polylepis. Sparkles'll see you when the time comes. Now, Sparkles thinks she'll go back to her room. She wants to burn something!" and as she spoke, the girl burst into flames and disappeared. Lybica turned her slit pupils towards her partner and stared at him blankly. He glanced up, saw her expression, and sighed yet again.

"I know. She doesn't seem very reliable, but Julia is a very talented mage. She'll gladly fight with us when _she_ finally appears. Until then, all we can do is wait and watch."

**AN2: Yeah! Shortest chapter yet! So, Julia/Sparkles. She's something, right? I don't really have an excuse for her, other than I like throwing some crazy bad guys in the mix. Makes everything more unpredictable. So it turns out my inspiration hasn't dried up yet… I'll probably have another chapter posted sometime this weekend, hopefully tomorrow. And there will be more fighting! I'm sorry that these two chapters don't have any.**

**Until next time!**

**anime-fan72**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

**AN: Yay! A fight scene! … Don't get your hopes too high, fight scenes are my weak point. But anyways, say hello to the third Dark Spirit and its holder and remember: I don't own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does. Enjoy!**

Team Natsu got off the train in the town of Bayberry, near the coast. Other than Natsu, who suffered from motion-sickness, the mages felt refreshed and ready to find the next key. They proceeded through the small fishing town to the docks, looking to rent a boat. According to the map, the third key was on a small island close to shore.

"Why do we have to take a boat if it's nearby? Can't we just swim?" whined Natsu, who had just gotten over his motion-sickness from the train. Erza's response was to knock the pink-haired dragon slayer out and store him on board the S-E plug boat.

"Come on, Lucy, Gray. I want to get to the island by midafternoon," the red-haired knight ordered as she attached the S-E plug to her arm.

"With you driving, we'll get there in time. The real question is if we'll be alive at that time," mumbled Gray to Lucy, forcing the blonde to repress a giggle as they tried to prepare for cast off.

Two hours later, the mages stumbled off the boat. Gray and Lucy joined Natsu in hugging the sand, all three muttering how they never wanted to get in another boat again. Happy just sat down to watch over the boat (and fish).

"There's no time to laze on the beach. Get up, you three. This island is very small, but I don't want us to split up, so it will take longer to search it." Titania ordered, completely unaffected by her speeding.

"Oh, that won't be necessary. I have no problem with coming to you," rumbled a deep voice from the trees at the edge of the beach. A man stepped out and strode to stand a few feet away from the four. He crossed his arms across his chest, making his muscles ripple as he did so. Lucy shivered slightly in fear as she examined the third key holder.

He was _enormous_, on par with Elfman. He was shirtless and barefoot, only wearing a pair of shorts. His skin was covered in scars, large and small, new and old. His brown hair was kept in a buzz cut and his green eyes were sizing up each of them in turn. He smirked. "Oh, this should be fun. First, let me make the rules clear. No magic allowed! To make sure you all comply with this, you'll have to wear these." He snapped his fingers and magic cancelling bracelets, much like those Erza had worn as a slave, appeared on their wrists. "Otherwise, anything goes! You'll each be fighting me. To win, you have to draw blood or make me move from my spot. So, who's first?"

Natsu immediately started running at the man. "I'm all fired up! Let's go!" He tried to hit the man with his signature Fire Dragon's Fist, but without any flames, the scarred man easily caught it and tossed Natsu aside.

"Is that all you got? I thought mages were supposed to be strong!" he mocked before turning his gaze to the remaining three. "Who's next?"

Erza stepped forward. "I would like to be your opponent. But I want an introduction first. What is your name and why are you the third Celestial Dark Spirit key's holder?"

The brunet considered this for a moment before nodding. "Whatever gets you to fight. My name is Cole, and this key chose me for my strength! I have been defeated only twice in my life, but I will never reveal how. Now, come at me!" He spread his arms, inviting Erza to hit him.

The knight shook her head. "I didn't ask because I won't fight an opponent I don't know, but to give my friend time to recover. Are you ready, Natsu?"

The dragon slayer grinned from his position behind Cole. "Don't worry about me, Erza. Let's get him!" And with that, the two pounced on the man, throwing punches and kicks. Cole dodged or blocked most, not fazed by the few penetrating his defense.

"Don't, Gray!" Erza called to the Ice mage, who had been preparing to jump in. "If he defeats Natsu and I, you need to protect Lucy!" The raven-haired man nodded reluctantly and stepped back.

Cole laughed as he sent a kick to Erza's chest, slamming her into a tree, and trapped Natsu in a headlock. "Very good! Few opponents have ever tried to gang up on me, but I'm afraid it still isn't enough. Now, you!" he pointed straight at Gray, completely ignoring Lucy. "Come on! Show me what you're made of!" Gray jumped at the man, who dropped Natsu and prepared to receive a punch. Instead, the mage dropped and rolled under the brunet, kicking sideways to knock Cole's knee out. Gray failed, as Cole expertly lifted his leg out of reach, but earned a nod of approval. "That's the spirit! Misdirection! Unpredictability! Can you keep it up?"

"Shut up," Gray huffed as he circled, trying to find a weak spot. "I'll defeat you, for Erza and Natsu, as well as Lucy. No one hurts my friends and tosses them aside like they're nothing!" He leaped again at the man, settling for melee combat.

Lucy, meanwhile, had been ignoring the fights. Soon after Erza and Natsu started fighting Cole, Loke had shown up, using his own magic. The Stellar Spirits mage was astonished to see him.

"Loke! What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Your Dark Spirit, Oak, sent me," the ginger-haired Spirit huffed, clearly displeased at being used as a messenger. "Since he can't force open his gate, he sent me to tell you about this holder."

The blonde smacked her forehead. "That's right! I never asked Oak anything about Cole! Well, what can you tell me?"

"His strength is, obviously, strength. He can't be beaten using melee tactics, but if you can surprise him, you can win."

"How am I supposed to do that?!" she shouted, flailing her arms in frustration. "Do you see him?! He's a giant! He defeated Erza! _Erza!_ How can I compete with that?!"

The lion spirit shook his head, disappointed in his Princess's lack of confidence. "Princess, you're forgetting something very important."

"What?! What can I be forgetting?!" She glared, crossing her arms.

Loke readjusted his glasses and smirked. "You're forgetting why Natsu and Gray are more afraid of you than Erza. You're forgetting the power of the 'Lucy Kick'."

The Celestial mage puffed her cheeks out, making her Spirit laugh. "Fine! Fine!" she sighed. "So what should I do? Wait till he's distracted by Gray, run up behind him, and hit him with a 'Lucy Kick' to the back of the head?"

"That sounds perfect, Princess. Good luck! Your Spirits will be cheering for you" And with a bow, Loke vanished in a flash of golden light.

"Annoying lion spirit," Lucy muttered to herself as she slowly circled around Cole and Gray. "I'm not scary!" She stood, waiting, right behind the brunet holder. Gray saw her as Cole kicked him away and his eyes widened. His mouth opened, but she quickly shook her head and he seemed to understand what she was doing. The Ice mage ran at Cole, feinting to roll again, and throwing a right hook instead.

With the man so distracted, Lucy positioned herself and shouted, "Lucy Kick!" as she sent a roundhouse kick to the back of Cole's head. He understood what happened and tried to dodge, but he was a little too late. Lucy's foot made contact and the heel of her boot cut his scalp. Unlike Gray and Natsu who would get thrown into the air by a "Lucy Kick", Cole only stumbled forward a step. It was enough though, as two drops of his blood splattered on the sand.

He sighed and grumbled as he gingerly fingered the cut. "Good job, girl. You beat me. Nice kick. Here's the key." He held out another black key. Lucy took it and beamed at him as he turned and disappeared back into the trees.

Natsu and Erza woke up a few moments later, jumping up and looking around wildly. Gray laughed at them and described his fight, making sure to exaggerate his and Lucy's parts. He was incredibly proud of his little sister for taking Cole down.

Lucy examined the key, not caring to contradict Gray and prevent the resulting fight between him and Natsu. The symbol on it was that of a pine needle. She swished the key in front of her and called, "I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits, now! O spirit, answer my call and pass through the gate! Open, Gate of Strength, Pinus!"

There was the customary flash of darkness and a man appeared. He had dark green hair and black eyes. He wasn't as muscular as his holder, Cole, had been. Instead of being like Elfman, he was more like Laxus in build. He wore only a pair of black shorts, showing off his muscular chest and arms. He bowed low and rumbled, "Pleasure to meet you, Princess Lucy. Please call me Pine. I am the third Celestial Dark Spirit. My specialty is in hand to hand combat. Violet told me to expect you. I'm afraid I can't help you. I don't really remember anything about what happened to Oak, except that the family that had him was strong. They were real powerful people, and I don't think they would've let go of that power easily."

"What are you trying to say, Pine?" the blonde asked, cocking her head to the side. "Do you mean that you think whoever kept Oak's key from returning to its holdings might still be in power?"

The greenet nodded. "Sorry that I can't be more help, Princess. If you don't mind me saying, you shouldn't keep looking for the rest of us Dark Spirits."

"Why not?" she frowned up at him.

"Because there's a reason no one contracts the Dark Spirits. We've got too much power on our side." The Spirit shook his head. "I don't know why Oak didn't tell you, but there are seven of us in total. The higher in number you go, the more powerful we are. And the last two," he shuddered. "They aren't natural," he whispered.

The Celestial mage sighed a little before giving her newest Spirit a kind smile. "Don't worry, Pine. I'll be careful. I have my team with me. And anyways, I can't just abandon Oak. He's very upset about this, and if I can help him, I will."

The Spirit bowed one last time. "Very well, Princess. I will abide by your decision. The next Spirit is my wife. I hope you like her. Until next time." He disappeared in a flash of darkness.

Lucy frowned as she turned to find Natsu trying to scramble up a palm tree. "Natsu," she inquired, "what are you doing?"

He glanced over to see his three friends and Happy, who had wandered over with a bucket full of fresh-caught fish, watching him. "That stupid smell is all over this tree. Actually, it's all over three or four other trees too."

"This smell keeps reoccurring. We must return to Fairy Tail and see if Master or Levy know of any magic that can do this," Erza said. She glanced up at the sky, and was surprised to see the sun setting. Fighting Cole had taken longer than she thought. "For tonight, we'll camp here on the beach. Tomorrow we will return the boat and catch a train home to Magnolia."

With that, Team Natsu set up camp using supplies given to them by Virgo, ate fried fish for dinner, and fell asleep.

**AN: A nice cathartic ending. So, what do you all think of that fight scene? I know, it's not that great. I tried. And to disappoint you all further, I don't think there will be another fight scene until Chapter 8. I'm sorry!**

**Until next time!**

**anime-fan72**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

**AN: Here's the next chapter! No fight scene, sorry. And no new Spirit yet, either. This chapter is mostly boring dialogue, sort of a filler as I try to figure out how to introduce the next Spirit. As always, the disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does. Enjoy!**

Team Natsu returned to Magnolia, hoping that someone in Fairy Tail could answer some of their questions. As they entered the rowdy guild, they were greeted by Master and Mira.

"Welcome back!" Mira said cheerfully with a warm smile.

"You're back earlier than you said you would be," Master said suspiciously. Suddenly, he yelled as he grew into his Titan form. "What did you idiotic brats destroy this time?! If there's any paperwork from the Magic Council waiting for me on my desk, you'll all have to go through _that_!"

Natsu and Gray shivered in fear, throwing their arms around each other. "N-no! W-we didn't d-destroy a-anything this time!" the Ice mage shouted.

"A-aye s-s-sir!" agreed the pink-haired Fire Dragon Slayer.

"Master, calm down! Don't jump to conclusions!" Mira ordered, a bit of her demonic side showing. Master immediately complied, shrinking down to his normal size.

"Thank you, Mira," said Erza, completely unaffected by Master's threat of _that_. "We have not destroyed anything, Master, but we have found something during our travels that concerns us."

"Come to my office. Let's talk about it and what else you've found," he replied, turning to go upstairs.

"Levy!" Erza called. The bluenette looked up from her book. "Will you please come with us to Master's office?" The bookworm nodded and placed her book on the bench next to Gajeel, who had been sitting with her. She hurried over and the five mages climbed the stairs together.

"So, Lucy, have you found what you were looking for?" asked Master as the door to his office closed. The blonde Celestial mage shook her head sadly.

"No, Master, I have not. We found some clues, but nothing really helpful yet." Lucy said quietly.

"Lu-chan, I think it's time you explained to the rest of us what exactly is going on." Said Levy, adjusting her hairband before folding her arms across her chest. "You can't do everything by yourself, you know. And there's nothing wrong with getting help."

"Well, I have explained most of it to Natsu, Erza, Gray, and Happy. So they already know what I'm about to tell you." The Stellar Spirits mage began. "A long time ago, before my mother died, she taught me about a different kind of Celestial Spirit. They were known as the Celestial Dark Spirits. They were very powerful and very rare; only four had ever been found. When Team Natsu went on that mission to defeat a pack of wyverns, a Celestial Dark Spirit key was given as a reward. That's when all of this started. That mission… something was off about it. Natsu claimed that the wyverns, the town, and the people all smelled wrong, that something was blocking their scents. And the wyverns acted strange as well. They were far too easy to kill. Then, when I contracted the Spirit, Oak, he told me that when his contract ended he should have been returned to his holdings. Instead, someone had held onto him, but he doesn't know who."

"And what's wrong with that?" interjected Levy. "Spirits aren't supposed to really be aware of their key's state in the human world unless they've been contracted."

"It's a problem because Oak's specialty is knowledge. He's supposed to have access to all knowledge on everything. He's very upset that someone is managing to keep this information hidden. So he gave me a map and we," she gestured to the rest of Team Natsu and herself, "went to find the second Celestial Dark Spirit key. Her name's Violet and she's a healer. She didn't remember much about the person who had Oak's key, other than that they were from a very rich family. She and Oak recommended we find the remaining keys. That's when Erza contacted you, Master, to tell you we wouldn't be back for a while. We found the third key, Pine. He couldn't help much either, but said that he remembered that the family was very powerful too. He thinks, and I agree, that it's likely that family is still rich now."

Master nodded thoughtfully. "Thank you for explaining, Lucy, but I don't see how this prompted you to return here early."

"Because that strange smell that Natsu found on our mission was found at the holdings of both of the other keys." explained Erza. "We were very concerned about what could be causing it and hoped perhaps you or Levy might know of a magic that does such a thing."

Levy frowned. "From what you describe, I'd guess that the wyverns and people you met were either magical copies or magically controlled, but I don't know any specific magic that has that effect. What about you, Master?"

Master shook his head. "I agree with Levy, but I don't know anything either. If what you said is correct, and your knowledge spirit himself is being blocked, Lucy, then I doubt you will find any information on this magic. I can help, however, with narrowing down the identity of this mystery person. As you well know, there are not many rich and powerful families that have stayed that way for very long. Four or five, I believe. But I think the family you are looking for is the Yume." He glared at the younger mages. "Be careful, brats! The Yume family holds a lot of power! If you lose…" He shuddered. "Don't lose."

Natsu grinned, flashing his sharp canines. "Don't worry about it, Gramps! We won't lose to some rich bozos!"

The red-haired knight nodded in agreement. "Thank you for your help, Master, Levy. I think it is best that we now proceed with finding the next key. There are still many questions to be answered, even if we now know more about our opponent." And with that, Team Natsu said its goodbyes to the guild and headed off.

*Unknown Location*

The man, who is now identifiable as a member of the Yume family, sat in the same room as before. Lybica had delivered the lacrima camera and left. _Damn cat. Always so happy to look down on me. Serves me right for thinking a tiger could change its stripes._ He smiled to himself. _Or a wildcat, as the case may be._

His pensive state was disturbed by the arrival of another man. This man did not enter through the door, but instead appeared from the shadows. He had a slim, muscular build with pitch black hair and eyes. His eyes held no iris or whites, just like the snake he was named for. Polylepis, Lybica's brother.

"What are you doing here? I thought I ordered you to watch over her in your sister's stead." said the first man, his eyes narrowing.

Polylepis fidgeted uncomfortably. He kept glancing longingly at the shadows he had appeared from as he spoke quietly. "You did. But I thought it would be wisssssse to inform you that she knowssssss who you are."

"What do you mean she knows who I am?!" the man exploded. "How did she find out?!"

The snakelike man flinched and started sweating from the pressure of being the center of attention. "She returned to Fairy Tail and told her massssster what hasssss been happening. He guesssssssed from what she ssssssaid that the family which kept the firssssst Celesssstial Dark Sssssspirit key wasssssss the Yume family."

The man frowned in thought. "She's found three of the keys. She must find two more and then she'll find the sisters. That's when we make our move. That's when _she_ will come into play." He sighed heavily. "Until then, we will have to watch and wait. But we'll be more cautious than before. Polylepis, I'll be depending on you to keep a very close eye on Lucy Heartfillia."

The other man bowed low. "Of coursssssse. If you don't mind me assssssking, why issssn't Lybica watching over her anymore?"

"Lybica is training with Julia in Julia's room. I felt that if we are to be truly successful in getting _her_, they will have to get a better sense of each other's fighting styles." _And as a punishment for always doubting me!_

Polylepis cocked his head to the side. "And I do not need to do thisssss?"

The older man sweatdropped at his question. "No, you don't. You don't need to fight more than necessary. Trying to train with you would put everyone else in mortal danger."

The shy man nodded before bowing again. "You are very right. Well, I shall report to you again when she findssss the next key." He eagerly made his escape back into the shadows.

The member of the Yume family sat back in his chair. _Things are starting to pick up again, aren't they? Let's hope Lucy Heartfillia will be strong enough to lead us to __**her**__. Are you ready, darling? I'm coming for you, after all this time._

**AN2: And, done! See? Boring, right? Well, we do get to meet Polylepis. And we learn a little more about the man. Poor Lybica! Stuck training with the crazy fire princess! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed!**

**Until next time,**

**anime-fan72**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

**AN: Yay! The new Spirit is revealed! Sorry for not posting last week, I had some family business to take care of. For my American readers, Happy Halloween! As always: I don't own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does. Enjoy!**

"'When will we be arriving?' she asks," said Horologium. Team Natsu was back in the mountains, this time far to the north, and Lucy had taken refuge from the cold inside her clock spirit.

Erza checked the map, squinting to see through the snow. "Not long. If we haven't gotten turned around by the snow, we should be arriving at the holdings in a few minutes."

"Luce, why are you hiding in there? It's not that cold!" called Natsu, whose body temperature made the snow melt around him. "See? Even Ice Princess is fine!" And Gray was, actually, very comfortable. The raven-haired Ice mage had stripped down to his boxers and the snow, melted by Natsu, turned to ice around him.

"What did you say, Firebreath?" he shouted angrily, glaring at the Dragon Slayer.

"Don't you two dare," yelled Erza. "If you two fight now, you could cause an avalanche! I won't have Fairy Tail paying for the damages if you two get a town destroyed!" As the three continued arguing about the likelihood of an avalanche and whether Fairy Tail would be held responsible for it, the mages and cat arrived in front of a towering structure of ice. Horologium disappeared back into the Spirit World and Lucy immediately started shivering.

"Quiet!" she screamed. "We're here, I think!"

"Aye!" called Happy weakly. The poor Exceed couldn't fly because his wings had frozen over. He was now hiding in Natsu's vest.

"You are correct, Lucy," said the Requip mage as she looked at the map and squinted up at the glittering edifice. "Look! There are doors carved into the front!" The team hauled the doors open, noticing they had been carved with strange swirls and waves. The way the light hit them blinded the mages, making them see odd colors and shapes. They slowly entered the ice castle, for lack of a better description, and were dazzled by light again.

"Seriously? This place is too bright," whined Natsu, rubbing his eyes.

"I'm sorry you feel that way," said a cool new voice. "You'll have to get used to strange things if you want to get my key." Team Natsu looked up and found a woman standing at the top of a grand staircase of ice. It was this very staircase that had rendered them sightless upon entering. The woman slowly walked down the stairs. She had long ice-blue hair and lilac colored eyes. She wore a long, glittering, white gown. As she reached the end of the stairs, she stopped and spoke again. "Welcome to my holdings. I am Regina. I was chosen by this Celestial Dark Spirit key because of my ability to warp the reality of others." She smirked at the mages. "Try to find your way through this!" she called as she stamped her foot.

The mages fell down as the floor they had been standing on suddenly started rising. They were raised through a hole in the ceiling, where the floor stopped, sealing them inside a room. An empty doorway stood waiting as the mages untangled themselves and stood up. They cautiously exited the room and found three hallways branching off. It was impossible to tell how long they were or if they were empty or not, as they were completely filled with freezing fog.

"Which way should we go?" asked the blonde Celestial Spirit mage. Natsu sniffed the three hallways and frowned.

"They all mostly smell the same. But this one," he pointed to the middle hallway, "has _that_ smell to it."

The red-haired knight strode forward, summoning a sword to her hand. "Then that is the path we shall take." As Team Natsu entered, they heard a rumble and a wall of ice appeared behind them, sealing off the exit. "So the only way now is forward." murmured Lucy. They had barely started walking when a spear of ice hurtled right over their heads. As they let out exclamations of shock, three skeletally thin, giant monsters made of ice appeared through the fog. Two still had spears, one having thrown his.

"You chose the path of monsters, lucky you." sneered Regina's disembodied voice. "Defeat all my monsters and me, and I'll give you the key. Lose, and you get to be added to my ice statue collection."

"What does she mean, lucky?!" wailed Lucy. "How can having to fight a bunch of monsters be lucky?!"

"Come, now, Lucy," said Erza. "You know very well there are things worse than fighting monsters." The blonde sighed and nodded her head sadly.

"Alright!" cheered Natsu. "This is gonna be fun!"

"I couldn't agree more, Flame Idiot," said Gray as he smirked. "Trying to defeat me with my own element, Regina? You will lose!"

One of the two monsters holdings spears slowly drew his arm back and threw it straight at Natsu. The pink-haired Dragon Slayer let out a Fire Dragon's Roar and melted it. The spearless ones created more spears from the floor as the final one threw his spear at Gray. The Ice mage threw up a quick shield, which shattered the spear.

Erza tried to rush at the monsters, but slipped on the ice. Lucy had the same difficulty balancing as she tried to use her whip. The two girls found themselves sprawled across the floor, helpless. Natsu only managed to keep from falling by melting the ice under his feet, sinking his stance into the floor. Gray had absolutely no difficulty standing on the suddenly slick surface. He threw up a shield to guard the girls from any spears and charged at the monsters with Natsu.

Gray created his ice lances, shattering parts of the monsters. He created dozens upon dozens, trying to stay ahead of the monsters' regeneration. Natsu sent flaming punches and kicks, destroying one with his Fire Dragons' Wings attack. Gray managed to destroy another, and together they melted and shattered the third.

"Damn!" panted the Ice mage. "Those things did not want to die!"

"I'm sorry, Natsu, Gray. I was unable to help you whatsoever. Please, hit me as punishment," said Erza as she and Lucy carefully stood up.

"Don't apologize, Erza. It isn't your fault we were helpless," said the Stellar Spirits mage. "It was those monsters. And I'm gonna guess we have to face more before we get out of this creepy fog."

They continued forward, but the fog was no longer silent. It was filled with eerie creaks and moans, setting their nerves on edge. They passed large, dark, indistinct shapes that seemed to reach out to them. When they were finally confronted by another three monsters, Team Natsu all nearly jumped out of their skins.

"Why is it so creepy?" wailed Happy. "Why can't it be full of fish instead?"

The monsters were different than before. While these were also made of ice, they were much smaller, the size of a child, and all sharp angles. They whirled around the mages, moving so fast they were blurs, and used their razor-sharp hands to slice at the mages. The Fairy Tail wizards tried to move, but found their feet frozen to the floor.

"Ha! You think that can hold me?" shouted Natsu. The Fire Dragon Slayer set his feet on fire, melting the floor a little, and freeing his feet. He then proceeded to chase one of the monsters, throwing flames at it.

As he did so, Gray quietly broke the ice holding the rest of Team Natsu's feet. He and Lucy teamed up to take out another monster. The Celestial mage used her whip to hold it in place and Gray shattered it using his Ice Make: Cannon. Erza used her Flight Armor to effectively attack and cut up the last monster. Happy had been simply flying over their heads this whole time, not even a target for the monsters. He taunted the pinket for taking longer than Gray to finish off his monster, provoking Natsu and Gray to get into a fight over who was the better fighter. They only stopped fighting when they registered the presence of another person. Regina had appeared, and she was not happy.

"Congratulations, brats," she mocked. "You get to fight me now. And," she glared at the Ice mage, "no one makes fun of my use of ice!" With that, she threw her hand out and created a dozen copies of herself. They gathered close together so the mages could not tell which one was the original.

Natsu threw a Fire Dragon's Roar, and shattered the image of the group of Reginas, revealing more mist behind it. Lucy understood what had happened and called out, "Be careful! She's using mirrors to trick us!"

A cold laugh resounded about the friends. "Very good! Yes, I do love my mirrors. Let's see if you can find the real me. There are plenty of copies and mirrors waiting for you, as well as some other surprises!"

"Whatever, Ice Coward," said Natsu, smirking. "We'll find you and beat you!"

"What did you call me?!" Regina shrieked.

"You heard me! Come on, people! Let's go! I can smell her, she's this way!" And with that, the Dragon Slayer took off.

"Wait, Natsu! Be careful!" the blonde Stellar Spirits mage called, but she was too late. He had already slammed into another mirror, triggering an explosion. He quickly ate the fire, making a face as he did so.

"Gross! That tasted terrible!"

"Idiot! What were you thinking?! She said she had surprises for us!"

Natsu scratched his head and grinned at the fuming blonde. "Sorry, Luce."

"Lucy is right," put in the scarlet-haired knight. "We must be careful in how we proceed. Keep your eyes open."

The group then tried to proceed cautiously, but of course Natsu set off several more explosions, shattered several more mirrors and encountered a few copies, one of which was filled with sticky goo. It was only through the quick shield Gray threw up that they were not all glued to the floor. Finally, the team made it to the end of the hallway and out of the mist.

"Ah, finally!" cheered Lucy. "We're out of that weird fog!" The mages were now in an enormous room with towering ceilings, full of light. It glittered and shone, light reflecting off the walls and floor.

"Don't insult my fog!" pouted Regina, who appeared in front of them. She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "I'm bored of you. You're no fun to try and trick. Here, take the key and go."

"Wait!" the Stellar Spirits mage shouted. "I have a question. Why did you say we were lucky to get the path with monsters? What did the other paths hold?"

The holder grinned darkly. "The one to the right led to a forest with only one tree and where it only ever rains in one spot. The one to the left led to a… surprise, let's say. Now, go!"

The bluenette held out a black key which Lucy accepted. Once the blonde's hand had closed around it, the Fairy Tail mages found the floor had vanished under them and they were whisked away on a slide that ejected them safely out of the ice castle.

"How rude!" sulked Lucy. "What sort of exit is that?"

"Come on, Luce!" shouted Natsu, completely thrilled from the fast and slightly dangerous ride. "That was fun!"

"Aye sir!" called Happy faithfully.

"Lucy, what did Regina mean by a forest with only one tree?" asked the raven-haired Ice mage. "I don't get it."

The blonde cocked her head and frowned a little before widening her eyes and paling. "I think I've read about it before. It's a type of torture, really. A man was locked in a room full of mirrors that reflected a tree, making it appear as if the man was in a forest. The room was full of incredibly bright lights that heated up the mirrors, meant to roast the man alive. Then water was supposedly poured down one mirror once the man was going crazy with thirst, so he tried licking one of the mirrors and burned his tongue." She shuddered. "It's awful, really."

"It sounds so. Anyways, Lucy, will you call the Spirit now?" asked Erza. The Celestial mage nodded her head and examined the key. Like all the others, it was pure black, and its symbol was that of a purple rose petal. _'Oh! I remember this one! I always thought it was a little strange that it's purple, not red.'_

"I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits, now! O spirit, answer my call and pass through the gate! Open, Gate of Enchantment, Rosa!" There was the customary flash of darkness and a woman appeared. She had long white hair and purple eyes and wore a long lilac dress. She smirked as she looked Lucy up and down.

"So you're the little mage who's been collecting all of our keys? I must say, for my first Celestial mage, you're not what I was expecting." The Spirit grinned, flashing her teeth. "I am Rosa, but you will call me Rose or else. I am the fourth Celestial Dark Spirit. I use illusion magic." She scanned over the rest of Team Natsu and sneered. "I can't say much for your choice in companions. Pine would love them, since they're all physically strong, but I prefer ones like you, Princess, who are emotionally strong. I cannot respect someone who hides behind their armor like your red-haired friend over there." She pointed straight at Erza.

"Nice to meet you, Rose," said Lucy sweetly. "I request that you please be civil to my friends. I care about them, and I know that their feelings are a touchy subject. So, please, don't press it."

The white-haired Spirit bowed her head. "I apologize, Princess. I shall take extra care in the future."

"Wait," said Erza. She walked up to the Spirit and gave her a small smile. "I know that I still hide my heart a lot. I know that I have a lot of work to do before I can consider myself truly strong. Thank you for being honest and acknowledging that."

Rose looked the knight up and down before nodding her head approvingly. "Of course." She then narrowed her eyes and looked at Erza's face closely. "You have a false eye, don't you, little knight? Don't think that that is protection against my illusions if we ever fight. My magic sends images directly to your brain, it does not go through the eyes at all. Remember that." And with that, she disappeared in another flash of darkness.

Lucy sighed before straightening. "Well, then. On to the next one!"

**AN2: I'm drained, this is so long! I apologize for the terrible fighting, I'm still new at this. Did anyone see my reference to Phantom of the Opera? That's my nod to the Halloween spirit since I didn't participate.**

**See you next time,**

**anime-fan72**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

**AN: Hello everyone! Wow, it's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry about that, but you know, life gets in the way sometimes. So we're finally nearing the end of this story! I'm planning that there will be two, maybe three chapters after this one. Anyways, enough of me talking! On to the story! Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does. Enjoy!**

Lucy sighed in relief as Team Natsu stumbled off the train. While Rose's key had been in the far northern mountains, this next key was somewhere far to the south, near the sea.

"Come on! We have a key to find! There's no time for slacking!" shouted Erza, completely unaffected by the long trip. Natsu, on the other hand, had trouble walking as his motion-sickness left slowly. He kept moving with the help of Happy, who had happily munched on fish the entire way and was now in the best of moods.

"Okay, Erza. Where are we going?" asked Gray as he stripped off his shirt. The ravenet was secretly praying that wherever this key was hidden, they would not need to go through Erza's driving or boat steering again.

The red-haired knight examined the map. "Not far. We should be able to walk. Seems like we're visiting the beach again."

"Aye, sir! The beach has lots of fish!" the blue Exceed was drooling at the thought of more fish. "Hey, Natsu! Can we go fishing at the beach?!"

The Dragon Slayer had finally recovered after learning he would not have to get on another vehicle. He grinned at his excited partner. "Of course! We'll catch lots of fish!" The pinket caught sight of Titania's glare. "B-but f-first we need to get Luce's key," he stutteringly added. The knight nodded approvingly and turned back to the map. She looked around, nodded again, folded up the map, and started walking away from the train station. The others scrambled to follow her.

After a rather pleasant half-hour's walk, punctuated with Natsu and Gray's yelling matches, the mages found themselves on a secluded beach, far away from the tourist beach which was closer to the train station.

"Wow! It's so pretty!" cooed Lucy with hearts in her eyes. She clasped her hands and breathed in the fresh sea air. "After we get the key, do you think we could take a small break, Erza, and enjoy the beach? Just for today? Please?" The blonde turned her large, brown, puppy-dog eyes on the Requip mage who had no choice but to agree after one look.

"There's no need for that!" called a bright voice from behind the team. They whirled around to find a man with bright green hair and sparkling blue eyes. He only wore a pair of red swim trunks and beamed happily at the mages. "You must be the ones I've been waiting for! I'm Mike! I'm the holder of the fifth Celestial Dark Spirit key and I was chosen for my forever happy nature! I don't like fighting, so I'll make a deal with you! Spend today with me, having fun on my beach, and I'll give you my key! What do you say?!"

"How do we know we can trust you?" asked Erza warily.

Mike cocked his head. "I guess you can't know," he said brightly. The mages all sweat-dropped at the greenet's unflappable cheeriness.

"Will there be fish?" asked Happy.

"Of course! There'll be lots of fish! Fish is the best!"

"Okay! We'll spend the day with you!" agreed the Exceed quickly. The holder's grin somehow got even larger, and he excitedly ran around, getting things like fishing poles, a beach ball, food, drinks, towels, and setting up a fire pit. Lucy had Virgo summon swimsuits for the blonde, Natsu, and Gray. Erza simply requipped into her black bikini.

"Alright! Our mission now is to have fun! Go!" shouted the knight, before running into the water. The Celestial and Ice mages quickly followed her, pleasantly surprised to find the water warm. The pinket and his Exceed sat down at the edge and cast their fishing poles, happy to wait for fish to bite. Mike, unexpectedly considering his energetic personality, chose to sit on a beach chair and just watch the mages enjoy themselves.

Over the course of the day, the mages swam, played a highly competitive and highly deadly game of volleyball (which ended when Erza, Natsu, and Gray started using magic to beat each other up, even though Natsu and Gray were supposed to be on the same side, while Lucy tried to hide behind an umbrella), sun-bathed, chatted and laughed, and just had fun.

As the sun started setting, Natsu lit the campfire and Mike roasted the fish Happy had caught. The group was cheerful and relaxed, remembering funny and embarrassing stories about each other and arguing about the details. The greenet holder smiled to himself as he watched. _'These kids need a nice break now. If they're looking to complete the set… well, Mujihina isn't known for her mercy. Her name does mean ruthless, after all._

After they had all eaten their fill, Mike clapped his hands and stood up. "Well, I have to admit this was fun, but it's time for you all to get going! You have another holder to meet, other keys to find! Thank you for your cheer! Here's the key!" He held out a black key to Lucy. Once she accepted it, the holder walked off into the darkness.

"What the! Where are we?! Why did you bring us here?!" said a new voice. The mages immediately stood up and grouped together, prepared for a fight. The Stellar Spirits mage gripped her keys, the Titania requipped into her armor, the Dragon Slayer lit his fists on fire, and the Ice mage got into his Ice-Making stance. A high-pitched laugh resounded before a large circle of fire surrounded the mages and the newcomers.

**AN2: And I'm gonna leave it right there. I'm sure you can guess who the strangers are. So… no fight scene, sorry.**

**Until next time!**

**anime-fan72**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

**AN: I have to apologize in advance for the fighting; I'm still learning how to write it. So, we're gonna meet a new Spirit! Anyways, as always: I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does. Enjoy!**

Lybica could only stare in revulsion as Julia/Sparkles laughed. _'This girl is completely insane,'_ she thought for the umpteenth time since she was forced to train with the psychotic fire mage. The feline mage looked around the circle of fire to find the reason why the Princess of Flames had used her fire to teleport them. They were on a beach, which would have been beautiful in the daytime, and directly across from the two females was the team of Fairy Tail mages it had been Lybica's job to monitor. _'No… She wouldn't really pick a fight with these guys. Not after we were specifically told to leave them alone until the Celestial mage finds __**her**__.'_

"Who are you?! What do you want?!" demanded the redhead. _"What was her magic again? Oh, right. Requip magic, The Knight.'_ She looked the armored girl up and down, assessing her. _'She's strong, but Polylepis would wipe the floor with her.'_

"Why are Sparkles and this one here?" questioned Julia/Sparkles. "This one" is what she had taken to calling Lybica after their first training fight. Needless to say, the little girl was not impressed by Lybica's display of magic. "Sparkles and this one are here to visit, of course! It would be rude to fight someone without being introduced first, right?"

"Sparkles," Lybica sighed. The feline mage had quickly agreed to call her by her nickname. The woman did not want to be fried. "Most people don't call a fight a visit."

"They don't?" the flame-haired girl asked, turning her identically colored eyes on her partner. "Why not?"

"I don't know. Probably because it's not considered very polite to intrude on someone else and then beat them up."

The petite girl frowned at this and crossed her arms. "Sparkles thinks that's stupid logic. Sparkles thinks a fight is a perfect visit. Sparkles is bored of talking, so now this one will join Sparkles in the fight!" And with that, she created two whips out of flames and snapped them at Team Natsu. The mages scrambled to dodge, barely making it out of the way before they would have been cooked to a crisp.

Lybica shook her head at the flame princess's impatience and activated her magic. Her eyes glowed, her nails lengthened into claws, a pair of cat ears popped up on top of her head and a tail appeared behind her. She wasn't wearing any shoes, so it was possible to see that her feet had grown the same claws as her hands. The wildcat woman bared her teeth in a grin, showing off a mouth full of canines, and sped off towards the ravenet Ice mage. She easily leapt over the shield he had created and launched herself at his face, not giving him any room to get into another Ice-Make stance. They exchanged blows, their bodies blurring together as they fought. Lybica's pupils widened to catch every detail and she never hesitated to take an opening.

Gray was panting hard. He had had reservations about fighting hand to hand with an opponent whose strength he could not evaluate, but quickly dropped them as he discovered just how powerful her attacks were. He was scratched up and bleeding; her claws were sharp enough to cut through muscle with one swipe. The Ice mage had been lucky so far, dodging most of her assaults, but his endurance was fading and he began making mistakes.

Lybica took full advantage of her adversary's waning strength and wrapped her tail around one of his legs. She pulled him off-balance, and sent him straight into her waiting fist. Gray finally fell down, completely dizzy, and found he did not have the power to get back up. The feline mage cut off her flow of magic and sank back on her heels, as she had a tendency to hold herself on the balls of her feet when she fought.

She gave a long sigh then flashed the defeated mage a smirk. "I have to say that I'm impressed, Fairy Tail mage. You gave me a better fight than I had anticipated. Of course, next time I won't be so nice." She winked at him and turned to see what disaster Sparkles had created while Lybica had been preoccupied fighting. The mage was surprised at herself; other than that moment at the end, she had been fighting fair and holding back most of her attacks, making her claws only glance off the Fairy Tail mage's flesh instead of ripping it from his bones. She stared, slightly shocked, at the sight which greeted her.

Sparkles barely glanced once at her partner. The cat seemed perfectly fine, so Sparkles turned her attention back to her new toys. She grinned at them, feeling it stretch her face almost painfully. She cracked her whips again, but she knew they were expecting that. What they had not been expecting was that balls of fire would shoot at them from the ring she had made. "Come on!" she pouted. "Play with Sparkles! She loves breaking in new toys!"

The one she had been informed was a fire mage scratched his head. "Hey, Luce! What does she mean? Why's she talking so weird?"

The blonde one she was not allowed to touch at all sighed. "Natsu… How am I supposed to know? I don't know who she is or why she's attacking us."

"Lucy," called the other red-haired one. Sparkles glared at her, comforting herself with the thought that her own hair was much prettier, as it was the same color as her beautiful flames. "I think it's safe to assume they are the enemies we have been waiting for, don't you?"

Sparkles felt her flames whisper to her. _'Burn,'_ they hissed. _'Destroy. Burn them all. Kill them all. Hear their pretty screams as they burn. Feel the power rush through you. BURN!'_ With that, Sparkles let out another crazed laugh and sent out rolling waves of flames toward the three mages. At the last moment, she remembered to order them not to touch the blonde one and to avoid the cat's fight. If the cat got injured or killed, she would be punished.

The pathetic fire mage tried to swallow her flames. The flame-haired girl felt a deep rage flicker within her. _'How dare he?! No one puts out Sparkles' flames! They would burn forever if she ordered it! He will pay!'_

As he coughed and choked, the flames sticking in his throat, forcing him to spit them out, Sparkles created a floating ring of balls of fire around him and had them charge at him all at once. As he ducked and rolled under, she screamed in frustration and snapped her whips quickly to wrap around the other red-head as she tried to sneak up on Sparkles. The girl failed in doing so, as the flames making up the circle around the battle whispered a warning to Sparkles. The flames did not seem to affect her and the flame princess took a closer look at the armor she was wearing, only to feel her rage grow stronger. _'She thinks fire-resistant armor will protect her from Sparkles?! Sparkles will show her!'_

The fuming girl increased the heat of the flames in her whips, super-heating the air around the foolish knight. Sparkles released her when she saw her go limp, passed out from air deprivation. _'Sparkles will let her live for now. She's supposed to be Polylepis' prey.'_

She turned her attention back to the other fire mage. He had recovered from trying to eat her flames and had placed his hands at his mouth. She cocked her head and waited to see what he was doing. A wall of flames quickly sprang up in front of her and turned the arrows heading for her into ashes. Sparkles did not even turn her head to acknowledge the blonde one's interference, too absorbed in the other fire mage. She was not disappointed as he drew in a large breath and yelled out, "Fire Dragon's Roar!" A stream of fire burst from his mouth and sped towards Sparkles.

She stood her ground and bent the fire, forcing it to become part of her whips, which she then sent lashing towards the fool who thought to use her own slave against her. He dodged and raced towards her, fury plainly written across his face. "Who do you think you are?! No one can control my fire! It's mine! Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

The angry idiot threw a flaming punch towards Sparkles face, only to have his flames wrap themselves around him, holding him in place. The petite girl cocked her head as her glittering red eyes stared at him. "Who does Sparkles think she is? Sparkles doesn't have to think! Sparkles knows that she is the Princess of Flames! No fire can be used against her and all fire bends to her will! She wields the Flames of Destruction, the gift that was given to her to take her revenge, and no soul can touch them!"

Since she had bound him in his own fire, she used it drain him of all his magic, only releasing him when he was too weak to fight back. Her flames protested at the lack of death and destruction, but she pushed their voices away. She turned to see her partner staring at her.

"Come. It's time to go back." Sparkles looked beyond the wildcat to see the other mage laying on the ground. She held out her hand and Lybica took it. They disappeared into her flames.

*The Next Morning*

Lucy sighed sadly as she picked at her food. She was upset with herself for not helping last night when Team Natsu was attacked. Whoever the two female mages had been, they were strong and ruthless. After they disappeared, Lucy had summoned Virgo and the two had bandaged up Gray, Natsu, and Erza. Virgo also left them a tent, sleeping bags, clean clothes, and some food. They had spent the night right on the beach and planned to leave today, right after they finished eating.

"Lucy, it's not your fault," said the red-haired knight gently. "They were incredibly strong mages and caught us unprepared. Next time, we'll have a better idea of what we're getting into, and can prepare a better plan of attack." She looked hopefully at her blonde friend, and sighed in defeat when she saw that her friend remained unconvinced. "How about you summon your new Spirit?" the Titania suggested, hoping it would lift the Celestial mage's spirits a little.

Lucy brightened at this and nodded happily. She pulled the black key out of her pocket and studied it. The symbol was that of a delicate powder-blue petal and she frowned as she tried to remember which Spirit it represented. Her eyes lit up when she finally figured it out and she stood up.

"I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits, now! O spirit, answer my call and pass through the gate! Open, Gate of Cheer, Crocus!" There was a flash of darkness and a man with pink hair and powder-blue eyes stood in front of the Fairy Tail mages, grinning. He wore simple black shorts and a bright green T-shirt.

"You must be the Princess! I am Crocus, the fifth Celestial Dark Spirit! I use Poison Magic! My poison has no antidote! Depending on the strength of the spell and the will of my holder, the poison has different effects! It can blind, paralyze, numb, burn, or even kill! Whatever my Princess wishes!" He bowed low. "I am entirely at your service!"

Team Natsu stared at the energetic Spirit, working to adjust to his exuberance. The other four Spirits had all been rather calm and collected, so Crocus' bright cheeriness was unexpected. Happy was the first to get over it and immediately turned to tease Lucy. "Lushy! What did you do? This one's almost as weird as you!" And with that, the rest snapped out of their shock.

The Stellar Spirits mage glared at the blue Exceed for a moment before turning to her newest Spirit, mumbling "Idiot cat" under her breath. She fixed her sunniest smile on her face and replied, "Nice to meet you, Crocus. You don't have to call me Princess, Lucy is just fine. I'm so glad to welcome you into my family."

The pink-haired Spirit smiled again. "Don't worry. I like calling you Princess. It suits you, and your bright personality. Rose mentioned you're collecting the whole set?" With an affirming nod from his Master, he continued. "I'm glad. There's only one more holding left, because the last two Spirits rest together. They are the sisters, Lily and Magnolia. Lily's my wife." He smiled a soft, loving smile at the thought of her, before shaking off his thoughts and turning serious. Well, as serious as the Spirit of Cheer can. "Be careful with them, Princess. Lily and Magnolia are very powerful spirits. Magnolia… Well she's our equivalent of the Celestial Light Spirit King. When you meet them, please be kind. Their magic is considered unnatural, and dark, but they are actually kind and loving."

Lucy gave Crocus a sweet smile. "Don't worry, Crocus. I will take good care of them. You can return to the Spirit World now." He gave her one last bow and vanished in a flash of darkness. _'On to the last two,'_ she thought.

**AN2: That was way longer than I thought it was going to be. I hope the fights weren't too disappointing. And Crocus... The guy is just too cheerful. Weirds me out to even write him in, but he's necessary. We learned a little more about Sparkles and her past. I wonder what she's getting revenge on... Maybe we'll find out!**

**Until next time!**

**Mia**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

**AN: Hello my lovely readers! Sorry for not updating last week, my internet crashed. So, I've decided not to introduce the last Spirits in this chapter, because it didn't fit in with what happens with the holder. There is fighting, but I'm warning you now that any fighting in this chapter is short, because I'm focusing all of my energy on planning the final battle. But enough of that, as always: I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does. Enjoy!**

Sparkles stared in fascination at the furious man before her. She watched as he paced up and down the length of her room, spewing expletives as he went. Every once in a while she would catch bits and pieces of what he was saying, but she mostly did not pay attention. She knew before she left that he would be angry with her and Lybica for revealing themselves to the Fairy Tail mages, but she could not bring herself to care. All she had known was that she was bored and they would be a good distraction for a while. "… you're not even listening, are you, Julia?!"

The flame-haired girl blinked slowly and raised her eyes to her leader's bright red face. She spoke slowly and clearly, "No, Sparkles is not. Nor is she sorry for visiting the mages. You cannot punish her for it, so are you quite finished with your ranting and raving?"

The large man stood, dumbfounded. In all his years of taking care of the "Flame Princess", he had never heard her act so calm. She had always been incredibly active, and slightly manic. He did not have any idea how to respond so he simply said "Okay" and left.

Her partner turned to her, head cocked. The petite girl sighed and asked, "What?"

Lybica shook her head, never taking her golden eyes off the flames mage. "Since when are you so calm? Aren't you always bored, so you need to always keep moving, keep changing your surroundings?"

Sparkles whipped her head around to stare at the feline mage in shock. No one, not even the man who had just left, even though the two had been together for most of her life, had figured that out about her. She lowered her head to stare at the floor. "Sparkles is tired. Tired of chasing his dreams. He promised _she_ would help Sparkles the revenge she needs, but this is taking a long time. Maybe, by herself, Sparkles would already have found the people who burned her home to the ground and killed everyone. Maybe she would finally know why she was left alive, and who gave her these flames to exact her revenge." At this, she raised her hand and summoned flames to play about her fingers before extinguishing them.

The ravenette smiled softly at the girl and looked around the room. It was covered in anti-damage and anti-fire runes, trying to contain the damage caused by this small girl's magic. While the walls, ceiling, and floor were pristine, the furniture in the room was all charred or ashes. Nothing was left intact. Lybica could not imagine what it must be like to wield such destructive magic, but she knew very well the anger Sparkles held in her heart.

"I understand," she said softly. She smiled again as shocked, bright-red eyes turned on her. "I really do," she reasserted, turning to look the redhead in the eyes. "When Polylepis and I were younger, our village, which relied on its farmers, was stricken with a drought during the rainy season. The sky turned green and animals avoided the area, as did other people. But we could not leave. Every time someone tried to leave, they found themselves back where they started. Eventually, everyone died, from starvation or thirst or disease or madness… take your pick. Polylepis and I were the only ones left. And then, finally, the sky clouded and rain fell. Polylepis grew so angry, he destroyed the entire town. If I showed it to you now, there would be nothing left to indicate people once lived there. We were lucky to meet your caretaker when we did. We were starving on the streets, just petty thieves. Polylepis and I both knew some mage was the cause of our suffering, and he made us a deal. If we came and worked for him and his dream, he would give us food, clothing, lodging, and when he achieved his dream, _she_ would be able to help us inflict upon that mage who destroyed our lives the same suffering he caused us."

"So you see," she concluded, "I do understand. I know the pain and anger within your heart and I know the doubt that lurks there. After such a long time, now that we are finally nearing the end, how can we be sure that all we have dreamt for will become reality?"

*Different Location*

The Fairy Tail mages cautiously entered the ruined castle the map had lead them to. Well, Erza and Lucy entered cautiously while Gray and Natsu bickered quietly, mindful of the red-haired knight's temper and policy of punish first, ask questions later. Their caution turned out to be unnecessary, as a woman was waiting for them the moment they stepped through the door.

She glared at the mages. "What took you so long?" she snapped. "Mike informed me of your visit to him two days ago! It only takes thirteen hours to get here from his holdings, even if I take sleep into account. So, where does the extra time come from?" She crossed her arms over her chest as she waited for an answer. The woman was beautiful, with long, purple-black hair and red eyes. She wore light armor with a rapier at her side.

"We were attacked by a pair of mages who we believe are our enemies in this endeavor to collect all seven Celestial Dark Spirit keys. These mages were very powerful, and left us with injuries that set back our journey." informed Erza.

The woman shook her head in disapproval. "Well, you arrived. I am Mujihina. I am the holder of the sixth and seventh Celestial Dark Spirit keys. I was chosen for my calculating nature." She drew her rapier and pointed at the mages. "I shall judge you now. We shall see just how powerful you really are. Come with me." She resheathed her blade and turned to pick her way through the rubble littering one of the many passages branching out from the main entrance.

Team Natsu followed her carefully through many twists and turns until they reached a large chamber which had been cleared of rubble, but no longer had a stone floor, leaving only dirt. The large windows were shattered, letting in plenty of light and fresh air to combat the smell of mustiness that permeated the place.

Mujihina turned around once she had reached a decent distance from the only entrance. She clapped her hands once, and a wall of earth closed off the entrance. "So, the rules. You will go one at a time. You may use whatever you like, magic, combat, anything and everything is allowed. Your goal is to destroy as many opponents as you can before your magic and stamina runs out. Don't worry about hurting them, they are made of earth and will return to it when they are defeated. Who's first?"

This time, unlike with Cole, Erza volunteered before Natsu could. She summoned a simple two-handed sword to her and gripped it, sinking into a defensive stance. The holder clapped her hands once again and a horde of about twenty giants rose from the earth. They took a vaguely human shape, but without any distinguishing features. They carried clubs made of rock.

Erza took the offensive, leaping straight into the group, slashing everywhere, destroying three of them with the first few blows. The ones destroyed were quickly replaced, so Erza was always surrounded by the giants. She continued for hours, dodging, blocking, parrying. She slowly grew weary and began making mistakes, which the giants took full advantage of. Despite their origin and size, the giants were very nimble and surprisingly intelligent. Team Natsu had arrived at the castle midmorning, but by the time Erza finally collapsed with exhaustion, the sun was preparing to start setting.

"Very good," commented Mujihina as she made a few notes on a pad. "435 destroyed. Very good," she repeated, obviously distracted. She glanced up when she finished writing. "Next?"

Natsu stepped forward, fists already on fire and his "I'm all fired up!" grin in place. His teammates were unable to watch most of his fight, as his spells often accidentally included them in their area of damage, forcing Gray to continuously throw up Ice shields to protect him and the girls. Erza would have used her Adamantine Armor, but she was still recovering from her assessment. When Natsu finally collapsed, the sun had long set and the moon was high in the sky.

The holder made a few notes then put her pad away. "Good, I suppose. 227 destroyed. Now, follow this." She clapped her hands and a small, Exceed-sized version of the giants appeared. "It will lead you to your rooms for the rest of the night. Eat, rest. Tomorrow, I will assess the rest of you, and perhaps you shall receive the keys." With that she clapped her hands again and the wall of earth disappeared. She swept from the room.

"Luuuuussshhhyyyy!" cried Happy, who had miraculously stayed silent this entire time. "She's scary! I don't want to stay here!"

The blonde sighed as she picked up the crying blue cat. "No one wants to stay here, Happy. But we want the keys and the only way to get them is to comply with her demands."

"It is truly no wonder why her name is Mujihina," put in the Titania as the mages followed the small earthling from the room. She carried Natsu on her shoulder, as she had mostly recovered from her fight during the Dragon Slayer's own battle. The pinket was unable to support himself and could say little else than groans. He had fully exhausted himself. "She is quite ruthless. Those giants were definitely learning as I fought them. Each became more difficult to defeat than the last."

"That would be why she's the holder of the most powerful keys. If she wasn't powerful, then the keys wouldn't be well-protected," added Gray. "Where is this guy taking us?" was the ravenet's question as the small being led them through more labyrinthine passages. It finally stopped in front of a door. It pointed at it and then at the team before speeding off.

*Next Day*

The Fairy Tail mages were roused by the ruthless holder at dawn to eat a quick breakfast before heading to finish their assessments. Gray opted to go first, taking the entire morning to fight before finally falling. Though the room had been warmed by the sun coming through the windows on the left wall, its temperature hung around freezing where Gray had been fighting, the earth coated in ice which slowly melted and broke apart.

Mujihina jotted a few things down and then announced the Ice mage's total. "Also 227 destroyed. Same total but different styles. Blunt force versus evasion… Attack versus planning… Unpredictability versus efficiency… Interesting, very interesting," she muttered to herself, gazing off into space. She snapped herself back to attention and turned her hard gaze on Lucy. "You're up."

Lucy took a deep breath to calm herself and pulled out her whip, keeping it in her left hand as she grasped her keys with her right. As the giants rushed at her, she quickly called Taurus and Virgo to her side. She and Taurus tag-teamed to destroy the ogres, while Virgo created traps for future ones, digging holes and pitfalls, as well as helping to destroy any which came her way. Lucy looked for weak points in their defenses, constantly searching for new ones as the giants learned from their destroyed allies' mistakes. She tried to conserve her energy and magic, using her endurance and intelligence to her advantage to combat the difference in physical strength between herself and her opponents. She eventually called Gemini to her side as well to confuse the giants, constantly switching places with them to keep the ruse going. When the sun showed the time to be midafternoon, she sent back the perverted cow and the twins, just keeping out the maid to help her defeat the giants and lay new traps. When the sun was shining brightly through the windows in the right wall, the Celestial mage sent the pinkette back. The Stellar Spirits mage took down a few more giants before finally crumpling, magic almost completely drained and physically fatigued.

Mujihina came over and stood over the blonde. The holder's red eyes bored into her brown ones for a long instant before reaching a hand out to help her up. When Lucy was standing, albeit shakily, the ravenette pronounced her total. "269 destroyed. I must commend you. Your strategy was the best out of your entire group. You conserved your power to last longer and used your enemies' weaknesses against them. Though you have your spirits to fight for you, you chose to fight with them. You used trickery and deception to confuse the opposition. Really, once you increase your physical strength some more, you will make a formidable opponent. Here are the keys. I suggest you wait before summoning them. You are in no shape to do so now."

The armored woman turned and clapped, unbarring the entrance and making to leave. She paused, though, once she was about to pass the fish-loving Exceed which trembled in fear of her. She knelt down and offered Happy a fish solemnly. "I did not have you fight. I hope you will accept this offering of my apologies and forgive my mistake."

The blue cat had hearts in his eyes and started drooling at the sight of the fish. "Of course! No problem! Thank you for the fish!" He took it reverently from her and proceeded to happily eat it. The holder nodded, stood, and vanished through the doorway.

Lucy, meanwhile, stared at the keys in her hand. She could feel their power pulsing through them to her. _'No wonder my other Spirits were concerned. The power these two alone must wield… It has to be comparable to Gildarts, if they aren't stronger! And now, we wait to see if those two mages will return and what exactly they want.'_

**AN2: And there you have it! Next chapter, we should be getting a slight breather before we plunge into the final battle.**

**Until next time!**

**anime-fan72**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

**AN: So, we finally get to meet the last two Spirits. I hope you like them, and I apologize if they are over-powered. I wanted them to be comparable to the Celestial Spirit King, who is himself incredibly powerful so… yeah. Anyways! As always: I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does. Enjoy!**

Team Natsu camped out in the room they had been assessed in for the night. As they got ready for bed, they discussed their adventure and what was to come.

"Natsu?" called out Lucy.

"Yeah, Luce?" answered the pinket.

"Do you smell anything off here?" the blonde asked.

The Dragon Slayer nodded and pointed towards a few corners of the room. "Yeah. It shows up over there."

"Was it also at the beach where those two mages attacked us?" asked Erza.

He nodded again. "Yeah, it was. It surrounded a couple trees, just like the last time we were at the beach."

The scarlet-haired knight frowned. "I believe whoever is causing this scent to appear at every holding is somehow using their magic to monitor our progress. To keep an eye on how many keys we have collected." Her eyes narrowed and a dark aura radiated off of her. "Perhaps they are even trying to learn our magic and fighting styles to figure out how to beat us in advance. Very unfair, considering how little information we have learned about them. They have had many opportunities to gather knowledge on us."

Gray nodded in agreement as he stripped off his shirt and got in his sleeping bag. "We don't even know how many of them there are. There's the two who attacked us, and somehow they're connected to the Yume family. I heard a few rumors about them before. No one knows how they got their money and that they're recluses, rarely going to social events."

Lucy interrupted him then. "I have also heard that. If I remember rightly, the head of the family died a few years ago, leaving everything to his only son. The son is the only member of the family left and is in charge of the entire estate. When I was younger, if people talked about the Yumes, they always mentioned that the son had been so stricken with grief that he never leaves his mansion. Supposedly, he conducts all of his business there."

"But what do they want?!" exploded Natsu. He had been frowning in concentration as he worked to follow the conversation. "You all say that they'll show up when we've collected all the keys. We did that! But why? If they were holding on to the first key, why did they set it up so Luce would get it? If they caused this smell at every holding, so they know where the keys are, why didn't they go after the keys themselves? Why did they hold on to Oak's key in the first place?"

The Titania nodded and sighed. "You bring up good points, Natsu, but we don't have the information to answer them. All we can do now is wait."

*The Next Morning*

Lucy woke up early and quickly got dressed. She was excited to meet her new Spirits. She made breakfast with supplies provided by Virgo, and as she finished, the rest of her team woke up and got ready. They hastily ate as all of them were as eager as the blonde to meet the new Spirits and solve this mystery. Lucy brought out the two keys and set one down carefully before clutching the other and getting ready to summon the Spirit. She had studied the keys the night before and talked about them with Oak. She knew that the first one she should summon was the younger sister, the Lily, and then the elder, the Magnolia.

She called out, "I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits, now! O Spirit, answer my call and pass through the gate! Open, Gate of Death! Lilium!"

There was a flash of darkness and a larger drain on the Celestial mage's magic than with the other Dark Spirits. The Spirit was a beautiful young woman with flowing burnt orange hair that fell to her waist and startling yellow eyes. She wore a short grieving black dress with long sleeves, cinched at the waist by a mourning white belt. She was barefoot.

"Hello Celestial mage Lucy Heartfillia," the Spirit greeted. Her voice sent a shiver running through the team. Though it was melodious, it lacked emotion and felt cold. "I am Lily, the sixth Celestial Dark Spirit. I wield Death magic. Life has no meaning to me, so do not order me to complete a task unless you are willing to bear with casualties."

The Stellar Spirits mage smiled uncertainly at her blunt new Spirit. "It is nice to meet you, Lily. This is my team. If I ever do require your services, is it possible for you to spare them?"

The orangette's blank yellow eyes passed over the Fairy Tail mages and Exceed. She nodded her head. "I can" was her simple answer. She returned her gaze to her new and only Master. "I will return now. Be kind to my older sister." The cold Spirit vanished back to the Spirit World.

"Lushy!" wailed Happy. "Your Spirit's scary! Like, Erza-level scary!"

The redhead ignored the teary blue cat and inputted, "I believe we can now better understand why Mujihina was chosen to watch over these keys."

Lucy made no comment. She simply put the black key with an orange lily on it on her key ring and picked up the seventh key. She returned to her summoning stance and repeated, "I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits, now! O Spirit, answer my call and pass through the gate! Open, Gate of Love! Magnolia!"

The habitual flash of darkness brought another beautiful woman with nearly identical features to her younger sister, but different coloring. She had pale pink hair tied up in a bun and shining silver eyes. She wore the same outfit as her sister, but her dress was white and her belt was black. Her aura was different from her sister's. Lily had been shrouded in coldness, but Magnolia was surrounded by warmth. Her mere presence soothed the mages.

The pinkette Spirit smiled kindly when her eyes fell on her summoner. "Hello, Lucy Heartfillia. I am Magnolia, the seventh and final Celestial Dark Spirit. I employ the loving magic of Life. I have heard much about you from my Spirits and also from your Light Spirits through their King. As I look at you myself, I can see that you are worthy and capable of holding both the Light and the Dark Spirits." She bowed low and stood back up. "It is an honor to work with you."

Lucy gave the peaceful Spirit a brilliant smile, her brown eyes filled with happiness. "Really?" she whispered. "You think so?" At the nod of confirmation, her smile, somehow, grew even brighter, almost blinding. "Thank you, Magnolia. Now, I'm sure Oak has informed you of his situation?" At another nod the blonde continued. "Then, you know all our questions. Can you give us any answers?"

The Celestial Dark Spirit Queen's face fell and her eyes fill with remorse. She sighed quietly. "I suppose it is only fair that I explain the situation. You see, I placed that barrier on Oak's knowledge."

The mages gasped in shock. "Why would you do that?" asked Gray, wide-eyed.

"I was asked to do so by the very person who held onto it. Eito Yume, the sole living member of the Yume family. He has lived since the last time I entered Earthland, preserving himself with his magic. When he asked me to withhold the information that he was going to hold onto Oak's key, I was under the impression that Eito was a good man. But soon after my other Spirits' contracts ended and I was going to return with them to the Spirit World, he showed me his true colors. He is possessive and greedy. He dreams only of wealth and power for eternity. He hoped that by holding Oak's key hostage he could convince me to stay with him, forever. I refused his offer and left Earthland. I kept my promise though, and never told Oak what befell his key. I suppose, deep in my heart, I still hoped the Eito I thought I knew would reappear and everything would be alright. I see now that that was a false hope. Eito is and never was the loving man I thought him to be."

"Now really, darling," drawled a deep voice from the shadowed doorway. "Where did you ever get the idea that I was loving?"

The Spirit, mages, and Exceed whirled to see a group of four standing at the entrance watching them. They stepped forward and spread out a little, making it easier to see them. The two on Team Natsu's right were the female mages that had attacked them on the beach. The one on the far left seemed timid and slightly frightened while the one center left was blazing with confidence. He repulsed the mages; they could feel his greed, his hunger radiating off him. He gave a small, mocking bow. "Lucy Heartfillia. I knew you could do the task I set for you. Now, hand over Magnolia."

**AN2: And I'm leaving it there! I haven't edited this, as I'm in a rush, so sorry for any mistakes!**

**Until next time!**

**Mia**


End file.
